Darkness Before Light
by Aysel
Summary: Sess/Kag Kagome is a village girl in the Feudal Era who yearns for adventure. However, she finds out that she is something more, and that the fate of the future lies within her and the compliance of a certain lord.
1. Default Chapter

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Disclaimer- I don't own Inuyasha, never have and probably_ never_ will. Thus resulting in my hopeless pining away for Sesshoumaru. Poor me. *Leaves to go sob in the corner.* Also, any quotes I put in belong to the said person.

A/N: OK, this is an AU Sess/Kagome fic and occurs in the Feudal Era. Everything is mostly the same, except there is no time travel and Kagome is a seemingly regular village girl. Sesshoumaru is still the Lord of the Western Lands and Inuyasha went through the same ordeal with Kikyou and is presently still stuck to the God Tree. 

* ~ D A R K N E S S ~ ~ B E F O R E ~ ~L I G H T ~ * 

By MysticMoon

The Beginning

"The future is purchased by the present." -Samuel Johnson

~.~.~.~.~ Village many years before the present in the Feudal Era~.~.~.~.~

The little children huddled together around the fire and stared expectantly at the village elder who sat staring into the flames. His eyes were unfocused, staring into the blazing fire, seeing something others could not. 

The little ones looked up wonderingly at the aged man, his face lined and wrinkled because of endless labor on the fields. The bright white hair and beard that had prematurely turned out so because of the stresses of labor and long hours under the sun. His sparkling eyes that told of a life lived to the fullest and wisdom beyond comprehension. 

In this village, he is well respected as well as feared. This man has lived an abnormally long life for this time, fighting against youkai that threatened the village and diseases that killed off so many. However it was occurrences such as these that the simple people of the village had reason to fear him. They feared the unexplainable, thinking that all it would bring is disaster. For this was not an ordinary man because he was, whether blessed or cursed, with the power of visions.

Visions of the future. 

As a child, he would stare into fire for tense minutes. No one would be able to snap him out of his daze with his eyes glued to whatever the fires were telling him. He would come out of it and then run to his mother, exclaiming that someone would die or that the crops would fail. Even now, they have trouble in believing him, brushing away his accurateness as a 'coincidence.' 

However now, something was definitely wrong. He had been sitting in front of the flames that for some reason, were still ablaze, for over three days. 

Unexpectedly, the fire went out, as if doused by water. 

"NOO!! THAT CAN'T BE!!!" came the elder's pained voice. The children jumped at his exclamation and scrambled to get help, not knowing what else to do. A woman ran toward the old man, who was clutching his chest frantically, gasping for breath. 

"What, what is wrong?" asked the aged lady as she lay his head on her lap and started to stroke his face. 

He held up his hand as she made a move to help him rise. "No, no, please…it is too late." The elderly man smiled softly as he saw the tears that were starting to well in her eyes. "Wife, you believe in my visions, do you not?" her husband asked frantically, his eyes wide. 

"Yes, yes I do. Of course, I believe in you." she said fiercely.

" Remember my words well and pass them on, beloved, for my time draws near. The distant future looks hopelessly bleak, but there is a way to save it. I have been having visions that tell the tale of the Chosen One. The one that shall push back the darkness with her purity and bring peace throughout the land. But something has gone horribly wrong. The being of darkness has misconstrued time and now knows that a threat to his plans exists and will do everything in his power to be ready for it. He does not know who the Chosen One is, but will kill those he is suspicious of and work to build his strength." 

"But husband, who told you this?"

In reply, he shook his head. Not enough time. He was growing weak. He reached into a pocket hidden within his robes and retrieved a tiny pouch. He put the priceless object in his wife's palm.

"Please, no more questions. I have protected this long enough, and now, you have to guard it with your life. Hand it down to our daughter when the time comes. When it finally comes along the path of the Chosen One, maybe, just maybe, the Dark One's plans will be foiled and the prophesy will be fulfilled." the old man said in one, raspy breath. Finally, his eyes closed for the last time.

The lady gasped as the deceased man's body glowed an eerie silver-purple. She was even more surprised at what happened next. The object in the precious pouch in her hand started to glow and pulse. Suddenly, in a swirl of purple, it seemed as if her husband's -soul- was -sucked- into whatever was in the pouch. She slowly, to the point of being painstaking, open the silky pouch and held out her left hand. 

A silver ring fell into her open palm. It was beautiful. The ring had a design of an intricate wildflower with a mysterious purple gem in the middle. She looked at it in awe.

Then, the distraught being finally allowed herself to shed her tears. 

Tears for her departed husband still on her lap. 

Tears for the bleak and difficult future.

Tears of hope.

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~.~.~.~.~ Present Day -Feudal Era~.~.~.~.~

A girl woke up in the middle of the night with a hand clutched to her heart. The light of the moon shone through the window from her hut, turning her face milky white and highlighting a ring on the fourth finger of her right hand. It was glowing with a purple light. "What…?" Kagome whispered to herself. She just had the strangest dream. 

A/N: OK. There isn't a whole lot of stuff explained in this prologue. I feel so bad about it, but I had to put it there, or else you would be totally lost in the next chapters. If you have any questions or comment, just leave it in a review. This is my first fic, and I'll try to make it as good as I can. Please review!! *looks at you with puppy dog eyes* Pretty please? 


	2. The Ring

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Disclaimer- I don't own Inuyasha, never have and probably_ never_ will. Really, if I owned Inuyasha, why would I be writing fan fiction? However, I would really appreciate it if you don't copy any of my ideas, since it took a long time to finally get all the details straight. -_-;

Also, any quotes I put in belong to the said person.

A/N: Hope you like this chapter. I'm sorry if you'll be thinking this story is too slow or anything, it's just that I love stories that have a lot of details and depth to them, you know what I mean? I wanted to explain things about the ring in this chapter. Sesshoumaru should be coming in the next chapter, with the rest of the characters. ^_^;; Please don't be too mad!! Anyway, on with the story.

* ~ D A R K N E S S ~ ~ B E F O R E ~ ~L I G H T ~ * 

By MysticMoon

Chapter 1- The Ring

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. " **-- Helen Keller**

Kagome walked slowly through the meadow, enjoying the softly blowing wind. It whispered into her ear and caused soft, wispy tendrils of hair to billow behind her. This was her favorite place to think; to get away from reality and daydream about places where only her imagination could take her.

She looked around at the vision of serenity surrounding her. The tall grass brushing her ankles as she strolled along. 

The multitudes of flowers bobbing their heads up and down. 

The trees swaying in the breeze.

The scene seemed so innocent with frail butterflies fluttering their delicate wings and happy birds singing, or rather, chirping melodious tunes. They flew through the gorgeous blue sky, which was painted with cotton candy clouds.

It all looked so perfect. 

Like a slice of time where all is right with the world. 

Eerily, it reflected her life. 

Calm. 

Predictable. 

Happy, or so she tries to tell herself. 

Her place as the future miko of her village was already planned. She could literally predict her future. She, Kagome Higurashi, would spend a year or two to complete her miko training under the tutelage of the present village miko, Keade. Once she did become the village miko, she would do all that was expected of her; defending the village from youkai, healing the ill, and everything else. 

'Well, that pretty much sums up the rest of my life.' Kagome thought to herself, somewhat sarcastically. Maybe she should have included something about having a husband and a few children, but once she thought about all the men who wanted to marry her in the village, she shook her head. _'There's just something missing whenever they're around me. But…if I want a husband, I will have to choose soon. After all, I will be turning 17 soon and most of my friends are already married as it is.'_

Then, she visibly cringedas she thought of one of her more persistent 'suitors', Hojo. He was so ignorant that he gave her the worst headaches. _'Don't get me wrong, he can be the sweetest guy, but I just wish he would finally figure out that I just want to be his friend, nothing more.' _Kagome pushed never-to-be fulfilled thoughts of fat, adorable babies and a loving husband away and sighed.

Sometimes Kagome just wanted to scream. Wanted to scream for adventure, excitement, change… 

No matter how much she loved the peace in her village, sometimes, she just wanted something…more. She felt empty, as if she were missing out on something wonderful. Whenever she thought of traveling on a dangerous voyage or fighting the innocent from enemies, Kagome always felt an unexplainable tug on her heart. Like those were the things she was meant to do…

Most people would describe her life as great compared to some others. Her village had good harvests each year, as no one is ever hungry. With her position as future miko and daughter of one of the oldest families in the village, Kagome is very respected. She also has a very caring and loving family. It included Kagome's wonderful, if somewhat eccentric, grandfather, an understanding mother, and a cute little brother named Souta.

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'What could be wrong with me?' Confused, Kagome sat on a large boulder and happened to look at the ring on her right hand as she tucked her knees under her head. The ring and it's fragile flower design and unidentifiable purple gem was something that she never took off, it's presence always soothed her. Even though she had worn the ring ever since she could remember, it always fit on her finger. Even with her frequent tree climbing and play when she was younger, the ring had not one scratch on it. 

Kagome could clearly remember the day her mother gave her the ring.

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~.~.~.~.~Flashback - Roughly a decade ago~.~.~.~.~

"Mama, what's in that box over there?" a young Kagome asked her mother, who was sitting behind her, carefully brushing her daughter's dark tangled hair. Mrs. Higurashi glanced at the small wooden box , placed the brush to the side, and then put her hands on Kagome's small shoulders.

"Well, Kagome, that's the box where I put all the small family heirlooms; things that have been passed down through our family for many years. Would you like to look at them?" Kagome's mother replied. Little Kagome nodded her head quickly, thinking of all the pretty things that might be found in the square object.

Seconds later, Kagome stared in awe at the jewelry and whatnot in the box as Mrs. Higurashi took each item out. "…and this is a necklace passed down from your grandmother, given to her by Grandfather many years ago." Her mother patiently explained.

"But Mama, what's in that?" Kagome asked while pointing to a dark silky pouch on the corner of the box.

"Well, that's one of the oldest heirlooms, if not -the-oldest." Mrs. Higurashi told her while working to undo the knot of the pouch. "If I'm not mistaken, it has been passed down for so many years that I have forgotten how many great-great-great-great- grandmothers it has gone through." Kagome's mother laughed softly. "But the funny thing is, when your grandmother gave this ring to me, she told me that no one has been able to wear it. Somehow, the ring would either be too big or too small to fit -any- of the person's fingers. I hadn't believed it myself until I tried wearing it." She seemed contemplative for a moment. "When I thought that the ring would actually fit on my finger, it seemed to…,well, the best way to explain it is that it -shrunk-. But now I think was just hallucinating it all." Mrs. Higurashi laughingly said while taking out the piece of jewelry.

"Mama! It's so PRETTY!!! Look at the PRETTY flower!! And the PRETTY stone!!! " Kagome happily exclaimed, her blue eyes transfixed on silver ring and the purple gem in the center of the flower. "May I wear it Mama? Pretty please?"

"Of course Kagome, I will be handing it down to you when you get older, anyway." Her mother replied. "But don't be too upset if it doesn't fit." she warned her daughter. 

Kagome slowly reached out her hand to take the ring from her mother's palm. On contact, Kagome experienced an electrical shock pass between the ring and her finger. She gasped softly as she felt something inside her left hip…move…

The girl mentally shook her head for her overactive imagination. She took the ring and carefully started to put it on the pudgy fourth finger of her right hand. Kagome felt a kind of pulsing coming from the ring as it was halfway down her finger. She pouted slightly disappointment when she found that the ring would probably always fall off because the size was too large. When Kagome made a move to take the pretty ring off, something shocking happened. The ring grew -smaller-. Just enough to perfectly fit at the based of her finger.

"Look Mama, it fits!" the child version of Kagome said excitedly, while looking at the ring on her finger.

Mrs. Higurashi just looked on with bewilderment. 

****

~.~.~.~.~End Flashback~.~.~.~.~

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'And I've worn it ever since.' Kagome thought to herself, smiling.

With all of her thinking about the ring, Kagome's thoughts turned to the events of the night before. _'That dream…I've been having it for some time now. Who were those people? Who was that man? He looked a lot like grandfather for some reason. And…that ring…' _Kagome looked at the piece of jewelry on her right hand. _'It's just like mine…but that can't be right. There's no other purple gem like this one. Mama said that's a reason why it's a one-of-a-kind and priceless.'_ Her brow creased in thought. _'It glowed…it's never glowed before…' _She stared at the ring hard, trying to figure out what exactly happened.

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'It is almost time.' a voice whispered in her head. _'If any more time is wasted, it may be too late.'_

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'What in the world is going on?! Who are you?' Kagome thought, her eyes still trained on the ring. For some reason, she was not one bit afraid. The gem in the flowers center was radiating a purple light and…it looked like something was… -swirling- inside of it.

__

'I am the ring's soul. I've been inside for countless years waiting to find you. The Chosen One. I am here to help and train you for the upcoming battle.' it replied softly.

__

'But if you're the ring's soul, why didn't this happen a long time ago, when Mama gave it to me? Wait a minute…what battle?! Chosen One?!' Kagome questioned as calmly as she could. It isn't every day the voice of your ring's soul starts to pop up in your brain, but Kagome wasn't as perturbed as others would have been because she had always believed her ring was something more.

The voice echoed in her head, _'Because you weren't ready physically or mentally. I had decided then that it would have been best if I waited until you became older. However…the Darkness…he is becoming too strong…I can feel it. Thankfully, he still does not know who you are because this ring has masked your true identity. But…if we do not face him soon…we might not have another chance.' _

'I don't understand…' 

"Kagome-chan!!" a voice exclaimed, breaking her thoughts and eye contact with the ring, which immediately ceased glowing an eerie purple.

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Review Responses: 

sesshoumaru-dono- Thanks soo much for being my first reviewer!! Anyway, you asked for a longer chapter, and here it is. It had been two before, but I combined them just for you. ^_^

starangel- Well, hope you don't think you had to wait too long. ^_^

slyslicra- Thank you for thinking so and of course I'll write more!! ^_^

Ashley- I hope that you got my e-mail. Hope I don't disappoint you. Thanks for pointing that mistake out. I fixed it right away. ^_^

Mistress Fluffy- Sesshoumaru should be arriving in the next chapter. ^_^

Suki- I'll try my best to update ASAP, but you know how life can be. ^_^

Lauren0- Thanks for thinking it was a nice start. I just wanted it there so no one would be confused at what happened all those years ago. ^_^

kawaiikitsune- Sesshoumaru was supposed to be in this chapter, but it started to get too long, so I left the event of Sesshoumaru and Kagome meeting each other to the next chapter. ^_^

A/N: Don't you just love Sess/Kag fanfics?! They make such a cute couple!! ^_^ Does anyone know a good male name or perhaps the Japanese word they call someone old or they respect? I can't seem to think of a name to call the voice in Kagome's head and it's keeping me from writing the next chapter. (I hope I didn't just ruin the mystery of who the ring's soul is. -_-;;) Anyway, I want to hear what you think will happen (although I think it's a bit too early for that -_-;;) or why things happen. So REVIEW!!! ^_^ 


	3. The Prophesy

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Disclaimer- I don't own Inuyasha, never have and probably_ never_ will. The only Inuyasha stuff I own are two DVDs, which you will only get OVER MY DEAD BODY! Also, any quotes I put in belong to the said person.

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A/N: Yep, Sesshoumaru is -finally- here for all the people who have been patiently waiting. By the way, anyone willing to become a BETA reader for this story? Having to reread everything all the time is driving me nuts!

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* ~ D A R K N E S S ~ ~ B E F O R E ~ ~L I G H T ~ * 

By MysticMoon

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Chapter 2- The Prophesy 

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Evil has no substance of its own, but is only the defect, excess, perversion, or corruption of that which has substance. 

-- John Henry Newman

Last chapter:

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I don't understand…' 

"Kagome-chan!!" a voice exclaimed, breaking her thoughts and eye contact with the ring, which immediately ceased glowing an eerie purple.

~.~.~.~.~

The corners of Kagome's mouth tipped down in a frown. She couldn't hear nor feel the voice in her head anymore.

"Kagome-chan!!!" the person repeated, louder this time.

Kagome, finally recognizing the voice turned and said, "Sango-chan?" 

Yes, it was her. A few yards away was Sango, with her arm raised, waving to her friend. She was wearing her regular out fit, instead of the one she wears as a taijiya. 

Kagome stood up and waved back. "Sango-chan!! You finally came ba…Ooof!" Kagome's words were cut short when a flying ball of fur hit her midsection with enough force to send her reeling backwards. 

"Kagome! I missed you soooo much. I thought I'd never see you again, so I made Sango come back here as soon as possible after the last village." it said, still attached to Kagome's waist.

"Shi…Shippou?" She asked, dazed. The girl blinked twice before, "Shippou!! I'm so glad to see you, too! But hasn't it only been a week since I last saw you two?" Kagome asked teasingly.

"Nooo…it was way longer than that." he denied, shaking his head with a comical look of all knowing wisdom on his face.

"No it wasn't, you just -think- it's longer." said Sango, who had since made her way to the girl and kitsune. 

"Well, it doesn't really matter now that you both are here now. Lets go back to the village and you can tell me about all the adventures you've had and other villages that you've helped over some hot tea." Kagome said, smiling at her two friends.

" That sounds great!" they both said, glad to be able to relax after their long traveling.

Shippou settled himself on Kagome's shoulder as they walked. "You should have been with us, Kagome! You should have seen how I fought all those youkai… with Sango helping me of course! Hehehe…" Shippou added after he saw the look Sango gave him. " Ahem…Anyway, on our way back from the last village, we saw the weirdest thing! A hanyou stuck to a tree with an arrow! Me and Sango didn't know whether her was dead or not!" 

"Well, it sounds like you two had quite an exciting time while you were gone." Kagome said, sighing softly. She wished she could go with them instead of being confined to her village all the time. The ring on her finger pulsed softly, as if to give her comfort.

****

~.~.~.~.~Meanwhile, deep within the mountains~.~.~.~.~ 

In a fortress hidden in the mountains, The Darkness sat cross-legged on the floor after hours of meditating, his body and face hidden in the shadows of the dim room. 

'I am almost at my full potential. Then, I will defy that stupid legend and destroy that which stands in my way. Just a few more months to prepare.' he thought to himself, a smirk on its face. _'All these long years, now down to only a few months. With my power, no one can possibly defeat me, not even the silly 'Chosen One' that prediction speaks of. Oh yes…the prophesy…how could I forget…'_

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In a land and age of chaos

where peace is unattainable

between creatures of the opposite kind,

the scale will start to tip. 

The Darkness will come

and the world is plunged in shadows.

Then, the Chosen One, Being of Purity,

will lead an army to fight it,

conquering to lead the world towards the Light

and a time of serenity.

Shorter than most, but holds so much meaning. It is so old that some, humans and youkai alike, actually forgot about it, thinking it to be just a loon's fabrication. 

He let out an evil chuckle, _'I may have forgotten, but I was reminded in time. The first occasion I heard it, I thought the drunken fool was just making it up. Good thing I had the sense to be cautious and …forced… all the details out of him.' _He gave a sadistic smirk at the memory.

That prophesy turned out to be more trouble than it was worth. Though, the description of 'The Darkness' and what 'it' was planning to do sounded so much like myself and the initial point of my plans that I had to be sure that nothing would get in the way of my ultimate goal.' Heliked to think of himself as the most prominent evil in history. 

He remembered having to acquire The Orb from those powerful, yet weak against a being such as himself, tiger youkai. The Orb was said to have the power to see the future. _'It was a wonder why I hadn't gone after it before.'_

The only reason why everyone didn't come flocking from all over to steal The Orb was because it was nearly impossible to find and it was nearly impossible to defeat the group of tiger youkai that guarded it. _'**Nearly** being the most important word, in both cases.'_

How well he can recall the last tiger youkai that stood against him, surrounded by the bodies of his kind that fought and failed. But most importantly, the gleam of fear and defeat that shone in the warrior's wide eyes. He had smirked at him. He wanted the tiger to see him use the thing he probably spent most of his life protecting from people such as himself. 

While the youkai stood stock still, waiting for his death, he had pointedly ignored him and made his way towards The Orb at the end of the room, stepping on bodies to prevent blood from soiling his…disguise. He swiftly took the velvet cloth that covered the magical sphere.

It didn't look like much, really; simply looking like a large, round piece of clear glass on a type of pedestal, but he knew what to do.

His dark, purple eyes stared piercingly at The Orb. "Show me the future of the Feudal Era after…The Darkness…as told in the prophesy, fights…The Chosen One." he enunciated carefully, just in case The Orb decided to tell the wrong future. 

The insides of The Orb seemed to swirl and take on a milky color, as most magical objects are prone to do. As it started to clear up, he realized that the tiger youkai, who had been standing quietly in horror, was now charging madly at him. "Stupid youkai, don't you learn anything?" he had said scathingly. He set loose a stream of miasma, hitting the youkai on his left side and turned back to The Orb, trying to block out the agonized scream that pierced his ears. 

What he saw made his blood boil. "What?! This does not look like a land of turmoil and gloom!" he hissed. It looked the exact opposite. Green grass. Blue sky. Children playing and laughing. Youkai talking with humans. As if they lived in harmony!! These disgusting scenes reflected from The Orb. _'So…the prophesy was right…well…I'll prove it wrong soon enough.' _he thought.

He reached out his hand, fully intending to bring back his hard won prize. But something happened before he could. The supposedly dead tiger youkai had gotten up and swiped at The Orb. If he could not safeguard the powerful item, he would see that it was destroyed before he died.

The Orb was sent crashing down. It was split into a thousand pieces.

As his eyes bled red, he destroyed the offender, this time, making sure he was unrecognizable afterwards. "Damn youkai." he whispered, and left without a backward glance.

Back in the present, he slowly stood up. _'But now…the prophesy surely cannot be right. I am much too powerful. I even have my 'children' here to assist me. I -will- kill The Chosen One.'_

"Kukukukukukukukuku…" came Naraku's wicked laughter.

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~.~.~.~.~Kagome's village the next day~.~.~.~.~

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'Concentrate. Keep the stance straight. Aim carefully. Concentrate. Make sure your feet are spaced just so. Concentrate… Release.' The arrow flew through the air, hitting the dummy at the tiny X, right where the heart would be. Kagome sighed and wiped her brow. She had been doing this for a while now. 

"That was great Kagome!," Shippou exclaimed from his perch on the branch of a tree, "You hit the X every time!"

"Thanks, Shippou. I've been doing a lot of practice recently." She him gave him a brilliant smile and walked up to the wooden person and pulled out her arrows embedded in it. "Do you have any idea where Sango might be?"

Shippou scrunched up his face in thought. "I think she went off to take a bath in the hot springs." Kagome nodded in understanding.

"Child! Can ye please help thee?" called Kaede from her hut. 

"I'm coming Kaede." Kagome yelled back. "Let's go Shippou." putting the arrows back in her quiver. "Did you need anything, Kaede?" she asked as she walked through the doorway, Shippou behind her, to find the old miko writing something down a piece of parchment.

"Yes child, I need more of these special herbs to make more medicine. The problem is that these herbs are quite hard to come by and the last time I replenished my supply was quite a few years ago." Kaede stated. 

Kagome came closer to look at the names of the herbs. "But Kaede, you can't find these herbs anywhere on the east side of the village, where everything else is."

"No, I found these herbs deep in the forest towards the west. A person as old as I cannot venture out that far and no one else knows of these herbs except you, child. Will ye be willing to go?" the old woman asked.

Most of the villagers tended to stay away from the forest on the west of the village. It is said that not too long ago, a dangerous demon lived in that forest and killed many people. Kagome had gone there before as a child, but her mother had come and taken her back before she could go more than a couple of feet. She had been told that there were many youkai in that forest. She had since happily complied never to venture into that forest again.

Kagome thought for a moment. _'What am I to be afraid of? Surely there isn't a killer demon in there. And if there is, no one has heard from it in years. Anyway, if any youkai attack me, I'll have my bow and arrows to protect myself.'_ "It's no big deal, Kaede, I'll go get the herbs for you." Kagome said, reaching out for the parchment. 

"Can I come Kagome?" Shippou asked, tugging on her kimono.

"Shippou, it'll be too dangerous." Kagome said.

"But, Kagome, I can protect you, really I can! I've helped Sango kill youkai before and I know where to go through that forest. Me and Sango have been through there lots of times! That's were the hanyou-stuck-to-the-tree is! I can show you if you let me come!" Said Shippou as he puffed up his chest, trying to look as strong as possible. Then, when that didn't seem to work, he put on his best puppy dog face.

Kagome felt as sweat bead form on her head as she looked at the adorable kitsune. The pout. The pinch-me cheeks. The big eyes. The tears forming… She sighed in defeat. "Alright Shippou…"

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~.~.~.~.~Not far away~.~.~.~.~

Behind a tree, Sesshoumaru felt his eyes form into slits as he watched her and the kitsune make their way towards Inuyasha's Forest. _'It's her…the girl from my dreams…'_ He followed them silently, being careful to keep is aura down. _'Yes…it is her. I'm sure of it. Now I will finally find out what exactly is going on.' _

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Review Responses:

Ashley- Thanks for reviewing, and I fixed my mistake. I wouldn't have caught that. Thanx!

kawaiikitsune- Hope this chapter explained whether or not Inuyasha's in it or not. Please don't yell at me for Sess not having the biggest part. I promise you that he'll be the first thing you read about in the next chapter!

darkness- Sess is here!…kinda. -_-;; And just for you, I'll force myself to try to squeeze in an extra romantic scene a few chapters from now.

CrazyLady- Where do we get our ideas? Well, I think I got the idea about the whole ring thing from thinking too much. I was in class one day and just started to stare at my mood ring (which has the shape of a wildflower, btw) and somehow, my thoughts turned to Kagome having a magical one. ^_^;

kagomesirene/ fluffballover- I'll try to update ASAP, since I have lots of time to write now that it's spring break.

Me- You've got a sharp eye! Yes it is! I had a heck of a time trying to find out if it came from her right hip or her left. -_-;

A/N: Alright, Sesshoumaru was in this chapter!! Yay!! Please don't kill me for just giving him a paragraph! I just didn't know how to keep going without ruining the cliffhanger! And I've got the next chapter started already, don't worry! 

As you can probably tell, I'm incorporating the _Inuyasha_ characters in one by one. OK, right now, I would like to just warn you about my deficiency in the romantic department. That's why I chose to write a fic with romance in it. For the challenge. My sister said I'm not bad, but I personally think I'm hopeless. If anyone could give me some tips about how to write really romantic stuff, please leave it in a review. I like reading mushy stuff myself, but I can't seem to write it. Somehow, I seem to revert to making things sound mysterious and vague. -_-;;

Oh! Can anyone tell me whether 'The Prophesy' sucked or not? I came up with it really late at night. I wouldn't blame you if you thought it did. -_-;


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